


We All Got Secrets

by protectmikasamuels2017



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Childhood Friends, Developing Friendships, F/F, Friendship, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Not Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:07:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24261085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/protectmikasamuels2017/pseuds/protectmikasamuels2017
Summary: When Veronica Lodge had rolled into Riverdale at the beginning of October, she had immediately realised that what she had first thought was the trio of Betty Cooper, Archie Andrews and Kevin Keller were the perfect friend group to re-establish her image with.What she hadn’t known was that the trio wasn’t actually a trio, but a foursome.What she also hadn't known was that they actually had some pretty dark secrets too.
Relationships: Archie Andrews & Betty Cooper, Archie Andrews & Betty Cooper & Jughead Jones & Kevin Keller & Veronica Lodge, Archie Andrews & Betty Cooper & Jughead Jones & Veronica Lodge, Archie Andrews & Kevin Keller, Archie Andrews & Veronica Lodge, Archie Andrews/Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper & Kevin Keller, Betty Cooper & Veronica Lodge, Joaquin DeSantos/Kevin Keller, Jughead Jones & Kevin Keller, Jughead Jones & Veronica Lodge
Comments: 4
Kudos: 67





	We All Got Secrets

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know where I got the inspiration for this, but it hit me out of nowhere and it wouldn't give up until I wrote it. I don't want to give too much away in the notes and reveal obvious spoilers so all I'm going to say is: Jason's body was found after the Homecoming game instead of after the dance. That's the only major difference I think there is that may cause confusion, everything else gets revealed along the way.
> 
> There's more notes at the bottom. Please enjoy and review!

When Veronica Lodge had rolled into Riverdale at the beginning of October after her father’s trial had finally ended, she had immediately realised that what she had first thought was the trio of Betty Cooper, Archie Andrews and Kevin Keller were the perfect friend group to re-establish her image with.

Betty Cooper was the girl next door. She was all sugar and softness and everything nice. With her big blue-green eyes and her blonde hair carefully tied back in a ponytail and her perfect, respectable, pastel skirts and sweaters. She was the good girl, the one who would help old ladies cross the street and tutor struggling kids out of the goodness of her heart. She was the one everyone liked. Having her as a best friend would help rebrand Veronica’s image from the ice queen bitch of a girl that she had been known as in New York.

Kevin Keller as a gay best friend. She still couldn’t believe her luck that one of the first people she had met in her new backwater school was gay. One of the only gay people in town if she was honest. Part of her ached deeply for the loss of Michel, her gay best friend back in New York, but maybe Kevin would be a decent replacement. He was a good gossip thank God, and he knew nearly everything there was to know about Riverdale and its inhabitants and the fact that he was the Sheriff’s son would no doubt be useful to her at some point in the future.

And Archie Andrews had to be up there on the list of hottest men that she had ever come across. Apparently his glow up had happened over the summer when he had been working for his father in his construction company and what a glow up it was. Those abs, with those shoulders, a face that looked like it had been sculpted by the Gods themselves and that beautiful smile. He was the golden boy, had recently become the new star on the football team and was showing a gifted talent in music as well, writing and performing a couple of his own songs. He would be the perfect arm candy. And she was eager to finally try a redhead.

For a brief moment she had thought that Betty’s heart also ached for the newest Riverdale heartthrob and that she may have put herself in a situation where she may have to give up her quest for him in an effort to keep both Betty’s and Kevin's friendship. She needed them to help rebrand her image as a good person and either way, she didn’t think that Archie would leave her for them so that left the whole thought moot.

Luckily during her first day at Riverdale High when she and Betty had been alone in the bathroom, she had carefully broached the subject of Betty’s possible feelings. And was very pleased with what she got.

x

_“Well” Betty had blushed, staring at her reflection in the mirror, trying very hard to avoid Veronica’s gaze. “When we were growing up I used to have a pretty big crush on him.”_

_“Until you caught him doing something gross and that turned you off him?” Veronica offered, praying for that option. Best case scenario._

_“Please,” Betty laughed, “we grew up together. By the time my little crush on him had formed I had seen it all, I wasn’t going to be turned off.”_

_Crap._

_“You did use past tense when referring to that little crush though, so I guess it went away eventually” Veronica commented as if she was referring to the weather, hoping that Betty wouldn’t see that she was rather obviously digging for information on her former crush._

_“Um, kinda?” Betty had mumbled, suddenly shy. “When we had gone back to school this year, Kevin had convinced me to tell Archie my feelings for him. He had changed a lot over the summer and now everyone was noticing him. He didn’t want me to miss my chance to tell Archie how I felt about him.”_

_“And how did that go?”_

_“He didn’t feel the same,” Betty shrugged, a hint of sadness in her tone. “It hurt me a lot at the time; but I’m over it now. Neither of us wanted to lose our friendship, so we put it behind us. Not all crushes work out, you know?”_

_That she did, but she was usually in Archie’s position of breaking hearts rather than in Betty’s of having her heart broken._

_But in that moment all she could focus on was the fact that Archie Andrews wasn’t forbidden fruit._

_He was free and ripe for the picking, and Veronica Lodge was going to be the one to snatch him up._

x

So after her first day, she already decided that she was going to make Betty her new best friend, Kevin her new gay best friend and Archie her new boyfriend. All she had to do was integrate herself into their friend group. That first day was the first step towards achieving that.

What she hadn’t known was that the trio wasn’t actually a trio, but a foursome.

It wasn’t until her third day at Riverdale High that she had found out about Jughead Jones’ existence.

She had been on her way over to the gang’s usual table at lunch only to frown when she saw that what she was coming to see as her usual spot beside Archie and opposite Betty was occupied by someone else. That someone else was a boy their age that she had seen earlier in her AP history class, with dark curls, lots of beauty marks and for some reason, was wearing a beanie shaped like a crown.

But she was a Lodge after all, so after a moment’s surprise she was continuing on without a care in the world towards the preppy bunch - and whoever the hell beanie boy was.

“Hello everyone” she smiled, sitting down in the chair beside Betty, diagonal to the stranger. Up close she couldn’t see anything special. He was strangely beautiful for a boy but his whole aesthetic was completely different from the rest of the group they were with. Like he was the darkness to their light. 

“Oh, Veronica, you haven’t met Jughead yet!” God bless Betty for being so quick to make introductions. “He’s been out sick for the last two days, although truthfully, we all think that he should have stayed home a bit longer to rest-”

“I’m telling you Betty, I’m fine,” Jughead himself interrupted. He seemed mostly amused though and a bit exasperated, like this had been a conversation they had been having all day. “Besides I have a feeling that the second I look like I’m going to do as much as sneeze, then you’re all going to drag me out of school to get some rest anyway.”

“You didn’t have to be back so soon though” Kevin spoke up. “I think if you played your cards right then you could have stayed off school for the whole week.”

“But I didn’t want to, I'm fine” Jughead shot back. To Veronica he just gave a quick jerk of his head that barely qualified as a nod. “Jughead Jones.”

“Veronica Lodge,” she nodded back.

And then to her surprise he turned away from her and started to talk to Archie about some article that he was writing for the Blue and Gold. Like he didn’t want to learn more about her. Like she wasn’t worth his time.

Refusing to let it get to her however, she turned to speak to Betty and Kevin about the latest drama in the River Vixens, while watching the other two boys out of the corner of her eyes.

And she saw how Archie would argue with Jughead with a soft smile on his face, how he looked at the other boy like he was the most incredible thing that he’s ever seen. How they both seemed to be ignoring everyone else for their own little world.

Ok, maybe her plan of making Archie hers had hit a much bigger roadblock than Betty possibly having a crush on him.

X

By the end of her first week she had learned several things.

That the fourth spot in the little preppy circle had already been filled by Jughead Jones.

All four of them have known each other since they were in diapers, according to Betty.

Archie Andrews already had a romantic partner in the form of Jughead Jones.

The four of them already had a much deeper connection than Veronica had first thought and getting them to widen their circle to accept her into it was also going to be much harder than she originally thought.

But she wanted to be a part of it, so she dug her heels in and prepared for a harder challenge than she had first anticipated.

X

Archie knew that Veronica was trying to bribe her way into the group on the second day after her arrival when she had shown up with fancy cupcakes that she had flown in specially from her favourite bakery in New York.

For those two days he had to constantly fight the urge to snap at her that she was sitting in Jug’s seat.

He knew it was ridiculous, she didn’t know and Jug was just out sick, but it felt like they were all trying to replace him with the exotic new rich girl from New York.

And after the events of last summer, when he had feared that he had lost Jughead for good, he didn’t ever want to risk that happening again.

He had mentioned that fear to Betty and Kevin when he had come across them at Pop’s later that day. They had been getting milkshakes together while Archie had come in to pick up dinner for him, dad and Jug back home.

“That won’t happen again” Betty had assured him. “Ms Grundy is gone for good. She’ll never ruin your life again. And you and Jug are back on the same page now. And Kevin and I definitely won’t let something like that happen on our watch.”

Archie fidgeted awkwardly at that, hating even the mention of Ms Grundy, the memories that her name brought him. That summer, full of lies and manipulation and a gunshot on the fourth of July. The memories of after the homecoming game; of blood, and secrets hidden in Sweetwater River; a secret between four friends to take to their graves. He had to fight hard not to let her sour music altogether for him.

To distract himself he redirected the conversation back to his original reason for approaching them. “What do you think of Veronica?”

“I like her” Betty admitted, “she defended me when Cheryl tried to kick me out of the River Vixens to make room for her. We’re studying at mine on Saturday.”

“She’s interesting,” Kevin shrugged, “but at the same time, I’m careful about what I tell her. If we let too much spill about certain topics . . .”

He didn’t have to say anymore; they all knew. Had Veronica arrived a month ago then they would have welcomed her in with open arms, and wouldn't have thought twice about what they said to her. But now they had secrets to keep. Deadly secrets.

“We’ll be careful” Archie swore, while Betty nodded in agreement. 

“It’s our word against hers if we do slip up” Betty muttered, her eyes dark. “She may be rich but it’s four people saying one thing and her the other. She wasn’t here at the time either so who’ll take her seriously? Besides, Kevin’s the Sheriff’s son and the three of us are from the most respected families in Riverdale, they wouldn’t believe that we could do something like that. And Jughead’s dad leads the Southside Serpents. He won’t be winning any father of the year awards anytime soon, but to protect Jughead he’ll do anything. We all know that. She doesn’t strike me as a fool, she’d know it wouldn’t end well for her or her family if she ever finds something out.”

“We’re getting ahead of ourselves” Archie muttered lowly, his voice a near whisper, as he glanced around for any eavesdroppers to their conversation. The only one near them was Pop, who was just coming out from around the counter with Archie’s food in hand and hadn’t heard what they were discussing yet. “Just act normal around her. Don’t mention Ms Grundy and say the bare minimum about Jason if she does bring him up and everything will be fine.”

“It will be” Betty agreed, toying with her straw a bit just as Pop reached them and handed Archie his food. “See you tomorrow Archie, is Jug still insisting on coming in?”

“Yeah for some reason” he shrugged, “I’ve been trying to convince him to stay home for another day at least, but you know what he’s like when he’s stubborn.”

“Yeah we know” Kevin laughed as he leaned forward to take another sip of his milkshake. “And do you know what I’m looking forward to? I can’t wait to see Jughead and Veronica interact for the first time. I don’t think we’ve actually mentioned him to her. I can’t wait to see how that goes.”

X

The Cooper house was the perfect all-American dream. Wholesome, looking like something out of a magazine, perfect in every aspect. It wasn’t elegant like the Pembrooke, but it was . . . well for a lack of a better word, Stepfordy.

It didn’t feel like a real home in a way. Every aspect of it, from the paint on the walls, to the photos dotted around the rooms, to even the clothes the family wore were seemed to be chosen to give off the perfect image of perfect people and a perfect family.

Even Betty’s room had the aura of being the perfect room for the perfect girl next door. Veronica had the sneaking suspicion that there was not a single piece of decor, from the posters displayed on the flowery walls, the bedspread covering the bed and even the fairy lights that didn’t go up without Alice Cooper’s permission and direction. The only exception to the rule seemed to be the pictures that Betty had dotted up around the place. There were miniature differences between them and the ones downstairs.

For starters, her parents weren’t in a single one. No, in these were Betty, the boys, and who she assumed was Betty’s sister Polly who had vanished from Riverdale. And more importantly, the pictures here weren’t taken for the purpose of showing off perfect people living perfect lives. They seemed more real. The people in them were genuinely happy at the time when they had been taken.

And it turns out Betty had a better view outside her bedroom window then Veronica did from her old bedroom in New York. And once she laid eyes on it she had immediately abandoned her studying.

Because Archie Andrews was changing his shirt right in front of his window.

“Betty Cooper, you are a very lucky girl” Veronica drawled, absently chewing on her cheap, dollar-store pen that she had borrowed off Kevin and had forgotten to return. “Do you think that we’ll see him change his bottom half? Underwear included?”

“We better not,” Betty muttered, her face getting as red as Cheryl’s trademark lipstick, “I don’t want to have that conversation with him again.”

“Again?!” Veronica almost shrieked, just barely remembering to keep her voice down, “he does do it?” 

“He only did it once,” Betty mumbled, refusing to meet Veronica’s eyes. “I walked in and got a full view of him naked. I couldn’t look him in the eyes for days afterwards. I had to get Jughead to ask him to close the curtains while he was changing from then on. And then Archie was embarrassed and he couldn’t look me in the eye for days too. I don’t think he’s gonna to forget to close the curtains while changing his bottom half anytime soon after that.”

Veronica tried desperately to stifle the laugh that threatened to come up, but judging by the dirty look Betty threw at her though, she wasn’t very successful.

“Stop it!” she hissed, “it was embarrassing! Can you imagine what would have happened if my parents had walked in on that instead of me? My mom especially?”

Ok, yeah, Veronica could see the point. She had barely spent fifteen minutes in Alice Cooper’s presence when she had first arrived that morning and already she could see why people avoided her. And based on her comments she clearly didn’t like, and/or trust Archie. She could only imagine on how that woman would have reacted if she had walked in on a scene like that. 

She looked out the window again. Archie was wearing a shirt this time. Pity. He wasn’t alone in the room anymore either. Jughead was there as well and they both were sitting on the bed, Archie had his arm thrown around Jughead’s shoulders, while Jughead messed around with his laptop.

“We can study at mine next time” she suggested, “less distractions there.”

‘And less nosy mothers barging in,’ she added in her mind as Alice Cooper entered the room bearing a tray of snacks that was obviously an attempt to hide the fact that she was snooping.

Honestly it would be a miracle if Betty managed to keep anything from her mother. God help her when she finally got a boyfriend. Or a girlfriend.

She might be open to one right?

X 

It scares Betty sometimes just how she’s able to move past what had happened the night of Homecoming. It had been a terrifying experience and yet just a few weeks later she’s having study days, going to River Vixen’s practise and hanging out at Pop’s with her friends. Like everything was normal and that her and her friends weren’t witnesses/accessories to a crime.

It had all occurred because Archie, in all his wisdom, had finally broken up with the rapist, manipulative, monster of a teacher who had been abusing him over the summer. Telling her that he was going to tell his dad and the police the next day. And then her survival instincts kicked in and that had led to her kidnapping Archie and taking him to Sweetwater River where she had then tried to kill him. So they did what they had to do to protect Archie.

And they got away with it. The discovery of Jason’s body the morning after had pushed all the other cases back to ‘not as important’. Even missing child molesters.

She had a feeling that if it had been anyone other than Jason Blossom who had been murdered and then found in the river, then Sheriff Keller would have been on top of Ms Grundy’s disappearance. But even if he had, he never would have found anything that would have suggested foul play or that they had anything to do with it . And now, by the time that case was solved and he turned his attention to the missing teacher, any possible leads he could have on Ms Grundy would be long gone. She’s already proven capable of stealing one identity, so they’ll just assume that she’s done it again. And they’ll never find the body to tell otherwise.

They got away with it and nobody even suspected they had done something like that. Not even her mother had quizzed her about where she was Homecoming night. It was their secret. Her, Kevin, Archie and Jughead were the only people in Riverdale aware of Geraldine Grundy’s fate. Or should she say, Jennifer Gibson’s.

And they were the only ones aware of the truth behind Jason Blossom’s.

Jughead had found Jason’s jacket when he had stopped by to visit his dad. From there they had found the flashdrive. And the revolver when it had mysteriously turned up at the Jones’ trailer a few days ago, clearly in an attempt to set FP up when the time came. She didn’t think that FP had even known it was there before it was gone again.

They were now just trying to find a way to get Clifford Blossom arrested without implicating FP and themselves in it too much on Jughead’s request. She could understand why though, she’d want the exact same thing if it was her parents or Polly in that situation.

So the incriminating evidence was safely hidden away in the one place where nobody would think to look for it. All they needed to do now was find out just how involved FP had been with Jason’s death, find Polly and figure out a plan for dealing with Clifford Blossom.

They got rid of Grundy, destroying Clifford would be easy.

X

Kevin Keller was an amazing source of information.

One afternoon, the two of them had been sitting up high on the bleachers watching the football team train in all their muscular glory, wrapped up warm against the incoming winter. Archie was down there training (and that was a view in particular that she was enjoying) and Jughead and Betty had been off investigating something for the Blue and Gold, they claimed. It also easily could have been digging for information on the Jason Blossom murder investigation. So that had left just the two of them alone together.

First they had gossiped about the latest drama in the River Vixens (and honestly, Cheryl ‘Drama Queen’ Blossom would be a much better name for the demon), then it had moved onto the latest rumours around the school before she started probing him for information about certain Riverdale residents.

She guessed that one of the benefits of living in small towns is that you’ve known these people your whole life and you know everything about each other. But that would also be a curse. No privacy in a town like Riverdale, even less than there was in New York with all the paparazzi

Another drawback to moving to a small town when you’re a teenager is that even when you manage to make friends you still feel somewhat on the outside. After all, these people have known each other their whole lives, ever since they were born in some cases. They have a lifetime of private memories between them. Personal stories, inside jokes, and you were just there on the outside looking in.

So she got Kevin to share some details of people she had marked down. From those she had wanted to befriend (Archie, Jughead, Betty), to people she had wanted to keep an eye on (Cheryl Blossom mainly. She had no desire to go up against the redhead girl just yet considering that she was trying to change her image but she did want information. Josie McCoy and Reggie Mantle also found themselves on that list too. People she wasn’t sure to label yet as a potential ally or a potential threat.). She hadn’t made any direct enemies yet though, that’s if you didn’t include Cheryl, which she didn’t right now. 

And some of the stories that he had were just hilarious.

“And then Ms Finch had taken a huge gulp of her coffee and then spat it all out all over the desk. There were a ton of worms surrounding everything! We all went mental and she ran out of the room screaming bloody murder! We never saw her again after that and Jughead was the King of the Class for a whole week!”

“Oh my God” Veronica laughed, wiping a stray tear from the corner of her eye. “That was incredible. Did they ever figure out it was him?”

“Nah” Kevin snorted, “this was back during the time when we usually had each other’s backs and the social hierarchy of high school didn’t exist yet. Not a single person ratted him out. Not even Reggie or the Blossom twins and they loved making Jughead’s life a misery. We all hated Ms Finch much more than continuing any in-classroom feuds we had going on.”

“How long have you all been friends with one another?” Veronica couldn’t help but ask. The group itself were all so random with all their different interests. Although Betty and Kevin did have the same peppy energy that she could see bringing them together; while Archie and Betty being neighbours their whole lives would have helped grow that relationship. Yet she saw nothing that could have helped Kevin and Archie become friends. And Jughead was an enigma in many different factors.

“Whole lives really” Kevin shrugged, his attention diverted back to the football field where Moose, at least she thought it was Moose, had the ball. “Archie and Jug have known each other ever since they were born really. Their dads were best friends too. And they were a trio because Jug basically was always at Archie’s if he wasn’t up in his treehouse so that’s how Betty joined the group. And we all became friends on the very first day of kindergarten. I shared my new crayons with Betty, Archie and I took turns wearing the police officer outfit in dress up and Jughead helped me with my glueing and bam! We were all friends. Have been ever since.”

“It was always so much easier to make friends back then” Veronica thought wistfully. Kevin laughed a bit at that.

“I’ll drink to that” he snorted before taking a swig out of the energy drink that he had bought out of the vending machines before they had come out onto the bleachers.

Childhood friends and they’ve stayed friends ever since even with different interests and the expectations and cliques of high school. Those were friendships that ran deep.

She never had anything like that.

At least she was able to admit (to herself) that she was a bit envious of that.

X

For the first time in Kevin’s life he had a proper boyfriend and not a bit of fun. Someone who wasn’t still in the closet (or just outright denying their sexuality in some cases) who actually wanted to be with him. Well there was still a bit of sneaking around. His dad would probably have a heart attack and then ground him until college if he ever found out that he was dating a Serpent. But he didn’t mind that, it made it more exciting.

What he did mind was not knowing whether Joaquin was seeing him because he liked him or was it on FP’s orders. 

Jughead had come across Jason’s letterman jacket with the flash drive hidden in the lining a few days after the Drive In had closed for good and he and Joaquin had hooked up for the first time. Now he was marred with confusion about if Joaquin actually liked him or was he just keeping him sweet for information about the Jason Blossom case.

Well what he didn't know was that Kevin was doing him a massive favour. 

Because, while the Serpents were clearly panicking and trying to figure out where the ‘evidence’ had disappeared too, (Jughead had reported that FP had acted incredibly strange the last time he had visited, with the trailer being even more of a mess than usual. ‘He’s realised that the jacket’s gone’ he had said. ‘And with it, his insurance policy. He’s trying to find it or figure out who took it.’) Kevin was sitting on the knowledge that what both the Serpents and his father were both desperately searching for was in the one place that the Serpents couldn’t reach and his dad wouldn’t look.

Buried under his old childhood toys up in his attic. Those that his father just couldn’t bring himself to throw away. Not that his dad had much time to do anything around the house these days. The Jason Blossom case was taking up most of his time. Home for him had mainly been a place to quickly scarf down some food and sleep for a few hours. In fact, at this current moment of time he once went two whole days without seeing his dad as their schedules didn’t overlap at all.

And even though all Kevin really wanted to do was lay into Joaquin and get some honest answers about their relationship straight from the horse’s lip, he held his tongue.

The main reason: they were still investigating just why Clifford Blossom had killed his own son. Jughead was desperate to try and find a way to make sure that his dad faced hopefully none, but if he had to, minimal charges from the whole debacle. They had video evidence showing Jason’s death and that Clifford killed him, but now they had to retrace Jason’s last few steps from Sweetwater River, which was the last time Cheryl saw him alive, to his final moments in that basement. They had to figure out where he went in-between then and who he interacted with. Find out who was working with Clifford and therefore had a role in Jason’s death. And destroy any evidence that pointed any blame at FP’s feet.

And he’d do it. He’d do it for Jughead. He was his friend and he knew that Jughead would do it for him if their roles were reversed. (Even though his dad had never been the nicest to Jughead and had really been pissing off the Southside in the last few months.). 

But Joaquin . . . Kevin really didn’t know what to do. He liked him. He really and truly liked him. And Joaquin seemed to genuinely like him back. And in the moments when Joaquin clearly didn’t think Kevin was looking at him, he looked at him in a way that Kevin had never been looked at before. He looked at Kevin like Kevin was something precious.

There were so many secrets in his life right now. So many things that they had to be careful about what they said in public or to their parents or to Veronica. There was so much that it all got jumbled up in his head and he nearly went crazy trying to sort it all out.

Homecoming.

Ms Grundy.

Jason.

Clifford Blossom.

The Serpents.

His dad always told him when he was younger that all secrets came out eventually. But that was always about whether Kevin stole a biscuit from the sweet cupboard or if he had studied for a test. 

Some secrets can be taken to the grave with nobody knowing. Just look at all the cold cases that still haven’t been solved to this day if you want an example.

X

Jughead Jones was an enigma. But at the same time a kindred spirit in Veronica’s eyes.

In terms of upbringing they couldn’t be more different. She had been raised in luxury in New York, in a loving family, with more money then she’d ever need. He, according to what she was able to dig up, was raised ‘on the wrong side of the tracks’. He was living with the Andrews, which points to the fact that his family situation was not desirable. She had also heard rumours about his dad leading a gang, but she hadn’t been able to ask Betty or Kevin about that yet. She certainly wasn’t going to ask Jughead. She’d probably get her head bitten off and no proper answer if she did. And she was willing to bet that based on her observations that his financial status wasn’t as well off as his friends were either.

Yet at the same time they were similar. Both of them had criminals for fathers, even if only Veronica's father was in jail. They were both judged for the actions that their parents had taken that they had no control over. However ever since she had moved to Riverdale, the press seems to have forgotten about her; something she never thought she’d actually be glad about. And she was not blind or deaf. She heard what people said about Jughead. Reggie Mantle and Cheryl Blossom were both particularly vocal. He had a damn good poker face though, she’d give him that.

They were both the outsiders of their friend group. She was the socialite New Yorker while he was the introvert, the writer. They preferred blacks and darker tones to Betty, Archie and Kevin’s brighter hues. They both had a love of the classic age of film (although she would never admit that publically). They were both brutally honest when they wanted to be and had a dark sense of humour.

She had been in Riverdale for nearly a month and the only one that she hadn’t won over yet was Jughead. She wasn’t sure if that was because Jughead just didn’t trust others easily or if there was a bigger issue at hand. Or maybe he had figured out that she had had eyes on his boyfriend. (Past tense, just like with Betty’s little crush, she had given up any pursuit of the ginger when she realised that he was hopelessly devoted to the beanie boy. And well, after her and Betty’s kiss at Vixens practise, she was leaning more towards blondes these days anyway.) 

But while Veronica Lodge was many things, a quitter was definitely not among those. She had originally set out to befriend Jughead simply because she needed the group on her side to rebrand her image. But now she wanted to befriend Jughead Jones because she genuinely wanted to be his friend.

Which brought her to her aforementioned point. He did not trust easily. It would probably be easier to befriend a rabid animal than it was to befriend him.

Then she thought of food.

Jughead had a metabolism that most girls would kill for, Veronica included. All he did was eat and no matter what he was still as skinny as a rake. And his appetite was relentless.

Well it was always said that the quickest way to a man's heart was through his stomach. More so in Jughead’s case.

With that in mind she headed to the first place she expected him to be: Pop’s diner.

Right on the first try.

He was there in his usual booth, typing madly away on his laptop, working on his novel, a cup of coffee besides him. He was alone which was exactly what she needed.

He also gave her a deeply suspicious look as she sat down opposite him, closing his laptop too for maximum privacy.

See, not exactly trusting.

“What do you want?” he asked, his voice full of suspicion and she had to work hard not to roll her eyes.

“Can a girl not hang out with a friend without needing a reason?” she tried.

“Seeing as you and I are not the kind of friends who hang out for no reason at all, I’m gonna say yes” he replied, his hand not moving from where it was still resting protectively on the laptop as if he thought she was going to try and reach over the table and snatch it away from him.

“And I think that we should work on changing that” she pressed undaunted. “Burger and fries? My treat of course.” The promise of food stops him for a moment, makes him consider but then the suspicious look is back in force.

“And what would I be paying for them instead?”

This time she did not resist the urge to roll her eyes. He was far more paranoid than he had any right to be considering he was just a weird kid who was writing a story on his laptop.

“With answers. I ask you a question and you give me an answer then you can ask me one in return. I meant what I said, I do think it's time we get to know each other properly.”

What followed was the most intense game of chicken that Veronica had ever played in her life. And she would rather burn this backwater of a town to the ground than concede the victory to Jughead Jones of all people. Her eyes were burning and her vision was blurry but she still didn’t dare blink.

Eventually Jughead gave in and she blinked her eyes furiously and thankfully as to not let the tears spill and ruin her make-up

“One condition: I get to veto any question that I deem too personal.”

That could mean anything from asking about his father’s occupation to what his favourite colour was, but it was a start.

“Fine” she conceded, before flagging down the waitress to place their orders. “Do you want to start first or will I?”

“I suppose you can ask first,” he conceded painfully as if he was consenting to be tortured.

Well it was a start.

“Favourite film director?”

X

Jughead wasn’t sure what to make of Veronica Lodge.

Betty and Kevin loved her, while Archie had been wary at first before letting her in. He on the other hand is still unable to trust.

It could be a result of what had happened this summer and after Homecoming, it could be a result of everything that had happened with his family or it could just be something he always had.

Probably the last one, he was never a trusting person, even as a child.

That night after he had spent the whole evening with Veronica at Pop’s, he had been lost in thought while Archie slept deeply beside him.

Veronica and him were on opposite ends of the spectrum, yet at the same time kindred spirits. On the surface they couldn't be more different, yet deep down they had similar interests.

He wasn't too sure of her when he first met her. He had found her to be vain, arrogant and desperate in her own way to join them. Archie being wary of her back then had his alarm bells ringing too. If Archie Andrews, the most trusting person he’s ever known wasn't trusting her then he definitely wouldn't.

So he had kept her at arm's length and refused to dance to her tune. They seemed to clash on almost everything since then; both of them loved to have the last word and refused to admit defeat to anyone. Especially to each other.

Everyone quickly learned not to leave the two of them alone as the odds were split fifty-fifty between two things happening: one, they would ignore each other, with Jughead working on his novel while Veronica scrolled through something on her phone. Or two, they would get into an argument that would escalate to them getting ready to rip the other's head off.

Only, that didn't happen this evening. They may have had different opinions about a lot of things but they mostly just teased the other rather than gear up for World War Three. They got to know eachother better much better than they had if the whole Scooby gang were hanging out together and probably would have spent the whole night at Pop's without any realisation about the time if Veronica's mum hadn't texted her telling her that her curfew was almost up and so they split up for the night and Jughead headed back to the Andrews.

Veronica Lodge was a conundrum that he still wasn’t sure how to define, even in his novel. And part of him wanted him to learn more about her. The other part of him still wanted her at arm's length.

But he guessed that he better start getting used to her because she didn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. He supposed that he could always go off on his own, but he knew that no matter what he did Archie would just follow him like a loyal puppy. And Betty and Kevin would either follow him anyway or just drag him back.

He was stuck with his group of friends and that friend group also included Veronica Lodge. He had to learn to tolerate her for the foreseeable future at least. 

But if things continued the way they did tonight? Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad thing.

X

Laughter drew Veronica’s attention towards a particular booth at Pop’s as soon as she walked through the door. Looking over she saw the rest of the group: Betty, Archie, Jughead and Kevin. They were all laughing at something she assumed was at Archie’s expense judging by his red face and awkward manner. Smiling, she made her way over to her friends.

“Hello everyone” she smiled as she slid her way into the side of the booth that Betty and Kevin occupied. They were so close that she could feel her and Betty’s thighs pressed tightly together and could smell the sweet, flowery scent of her perfume. Kevin on Betty’s other side, rolled his eyes at them as he moved closer to the wall giving them more space.

It was just Archie and Jughead on the other side of the booth. Archie had his arm around Jughead’s shoulder and was pulling him in closer. The beanie boy himself was trying to act nonchalant but the blush that slowly rose over his cheeks wasn’t fooling anyone as he allowed himself to be basically cuddled in public by his adoring boyfriend.

“So what’s the joke?” she prodded after she had given her order into Pop and analysed each of them. Unlike those few moments when she could tell that there was some dark secret between them, there was nothing but lightness and happiness in the air.

“We were just talking about Archie and Jughead’s first kiss” Kevin answered, a massive smile on his face as Archie’s blush deepened and Jughead’s smile started to grow.

“Oh, when was this?” she asked, slightly teasing, but more eager for details. Getting information on Archie and Jughead’s relationship, along with Jughead’s past was like digging for gold. She knew that the relationship had been in its early stages when she had first arrived to Riverdale, despite being friends since the moment they were born, but both boys guarded the relationship fiercely. This was something precious to both of them and they were going to protect it.

And now information was just landing into her lap about her new friends and an incredibly important landmark in their lives? Wonderful.

“Was it a beautiful tender moment just the two of you all alone?” she prodded, “or did Archie sweep you off your feet after a football match kissing you in front of the whole school?”

That gained her a chorus of laughs and a smirk accompanied by an eye roll from Jughead.

“Nothing like that” Archie laughed, shaking his head. “We were eight. I kissed him because my mum had just told me that I should only kiss people I really love. So I then kissed Jughead up in his old treehouse and then he panicked and shoved me out of said treehouse. That’s how I got my scar by the way.”

For a moment she was speechless, before she had made the fatal mistake of making eye contact with Jughead. There was a mischievous spark in his eye and the next thing she knew she had burst out laughing.

The others joined her and for a minute it was all light-hearted and joyful. Betty leaned in closer to her as she struggled to catch her breath and she fought to control her own rising urge to blush while ignoring the fluttering feeling in her stomach.

“Jughead how could you?!” she accused playfully as Jughead’s smirk turned playful.

“I didn’t want cooties” he defended. “I worked so hard back then to avoid the girls that wanted to kiss me at lunch and then Archie just goes and smacks one on me!” That alone triggered a new round of laughter between them.

She’ll never have this; she had understood this a while ago. The others may have accepted her, they considered her a friend and trust was being forged between them, but she hadn’t grown up with them. She didn’t have the years of friendships, the memories, the inside jokes that they all had between them, but she couldn’t bring herself to mind much any more.

They’ll make more memories and jokes, ones that would include her. And she knew more about them then she did when she had first met them a month ago. They would always have their secrets, things that they probably wouldn’t let Veronica in on and maybe even each other, but she had her own secrets as well. Everyone’s entitled to their secrets.

They probably weren’t that serious of secrets anyway.

**Author's Note:**

> My original plan for this also included a flashback revealing just how Grundy died and explaining how they covered up the murder, but I encountered two problems with that when I was writing this fic.
> 
> Problem One: I couldn't find a way to fit it in organically without it feeling forced.
> 
> Problem Two: I could tell even by planning it out in my head that it was way too long to be a flashback for this and was basically a whole other fic all by itself so I decided to just cut it out and write it as a sequel if people wanted to see more of this.
> 
> Hope everyone liked it.


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